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The Dutchman was ecstatic, he had won the Hungarian Grand Prix for the second time in a row. And both times without leaving first.
He was angry, of course. He held Pole Position and Lewis took it from him by less than 3 milliseconds, but Max led the entire race from lap one, and Hamilton's Mercedes dipped, unable to keep up with even the McLarens.
People believed that he would let someone else win, Max would have liked to wrestle Lewis a bit. Also, if Max allowed anyone to win or finish ahead of him it would be solely Charles.
Max couldn't stop thinking about his boyfriend, he knew his race hadn't been good since he finished behind George, but he would talk to him in their shared hotel room.
His head was filled with only thoughts of Charles, he wanted his partner on the podium with him, showering each other in champagne, ignoring the third driver, just focusing on them. Like last year or the only two damn times this season. Max would change any driver with whom he has shared a podium this year as long as Charles put his red tractor back in the top three places and be able to share podiums, explain to him what his race had been like in front of the cameras, take pictures while holding his waist letting the rest of the grid and the world know that only he had that privilege.
Don't get it wrong, Max liked Lando and Fernando, they were both good friends he had in the paddock, Sergio was his teammate so having him on the podium was good for the team, Hamilton was an old rival, while George was someone I'd probably fight in the future for championships and he really would not have liked to share a podium with Esteban in Monaco. But Max would trade all of them for Charles, without hesitation.
As soon as the podium finish, media round and mini celebrations in the Red Bull garage were over Max pulled out, he had better places to be.
How with his boyfriend, who apparently didn't have a good race, again.
Arriving at his room at the hotel where Red Bull was staying this weekend in Hungary, Max found Charles lying on the bed. Still dressed in his street clothes, he saw the Monaco-born's body tremble, so he knew he was crying.
And then Max realized that his prize was not the most important thing that was broken that hot Sunday in Hungary.
"Charles, darling, I'm here" Max spoke softly, he didn't want to scare Charles, he had sent a message to his boyfriend to let him know that he was going to the room, but Leclerc never responded.
"What are you doing here Max? Why aren't you celebrating your victory?" That confirmed the theory that Charles hadn't touched his cell phone since the last time they spoke. He didn't know how bad his partner's race had been, but surely he had been tormented by watching videos and tweets of what happened at the grand prix.
"I'm doing the same thing, there's no one I want to celebrate with other than you" Max replied, sitting on the bed.
"Mon amour, sorry, but I have no intention of celebrating tonight." Charles sounded devastated, his raspy voice letting Max know that he had been in this situation for at least an hour.
"I know, that's why I came prepared, if you're not happy I can't be happy either" Max gently caressed Charles's hair, just then the Monegasque raised his face from the pillow and Max could see the tears and red eyes, he hadn't seen his boyfriend like this since his DNF in Australia.
"You have to celebrate your victory Max" the Monegasque sat down, now face to face with the Belgian born, Max wants to stretch out his arm and wipe away Charles's tears, but no, he won't invade Charles' personal space when he was so vulnerable.
“I've won before, this is more important than a Grand Prix” Max gave Charles a smile, he meant it completely, no Grand Prix, not even Abu Dhabi or Zandvoort, was on the level of spending his time with Charles.
“It doesn't matter, you said you came to celebrate with me, and I'm not in a position to celebrate it” Charles's lower lip trembled, tears came back to his eyes, and the Ferrari driver wanted to avoid them.
"Charles, the only way for this victory to taste sweet is if I can at least get you a sincere smile tonight" Max put both hands near Shawls and brought his body closer to his boyfriend's, and Charles took the opportunity to kiss him properly, it was the third kiss they had given each other that day,they had never gone so long without kissing.
Charles's eyes filled with tears again and Max put a hand on his knee, then he excused himself that he had some things to do, but if he needed it, he just yelled and he would come.
While Charles went back to bed in the same way he was before, Max took the opportunity to organize something to try to cheer up his boyfriend. He called the hotel room service and ordered: Cappelletti, a bottle of champagne, a bath pump, candles, etc.
It must have taken him half an hour to get everything organized, and he grabbed his laptop and set it down a safe distance from the water, but where they could still watch the movie well. He didn't even have to ask which he would choose to do to him but he just put his on.
Titanic.
The Monegasque loves to see Titanic no matter the situation, but more when he was sad, the love between Rose and Jack gave him a certain kind of hope.
When he left everything organized, he threw the pink pump into the hot water and saw how the tub turned an intense pink color, the environment smelled of roses and vanilla, the candles gave a more welcoming atmosphere, he served two glasses of Champagne and went to look for Charles.
Monegasque was still in the same position, only looking at his phone, but when he saw his boyfriend standing in front of him, he left him on top of the bed. Charles already knew that Max would give him a bath, that was what Max loved to do for Charles after a lousy day, but when he took him to the bathroom, he just noticed everything his boyfriend had done for him.
Max undressed him little by little, and Charles did the same with him, each time they stole longer kisses, and when they were both naked Charles began to kiss him on the neck, as much as Max would have liked it, it was not the situation to do it, they will have all week to enjoy the body his boyfriend's. So when he ended the kiss and sat in the tub he just said "Let me show you my love in other ways Charlie" and he held out his hand for Charles to take.
In doing so, Max gently tugged on Charles's hand, until the Monaco-born sat on Max's lap and the Dutchman used that hand that wasn't wet to play the movie.
This was a much more intimate act than making love under the moonlight for hours.
Placing his arms around Charles when he was in such an emotionally vulnerable situation, letting Max into his personal space, would always be something the Dutch kamas would take for granted, as there were times when Charles did not want him to hold him, more than anything when at first, but Max understood that he had to ask first, not just hug him, no matter how much he wanted to. The emotional connection caused by wrapping Charles with his body was indescribable, knowing that this is what his boyfriend needed and only he was the one who could give him that.
Even though they were both naked in the water; with Charles's back pressed against the Belgian-born's chest, the Ferrari driver sitting on the lap of his Red Bull counterpart, their legs slightly intertwined under the hot pink water, the Monegasque's head resting on the Max's right shoulder, not having a space available between their bodies to insert even a sheet of paper; It was not a sexual act but a romantic one. Max didn't want to try anything else, he was better off keeping Charles comfortable, placing kisses on his neck to comfort him.
In the situation Max was in, he felt that he could express his feelings for Charles more, he whispered words of love to him "you are incredible", "someday you will have the car you deserve", "there is no better driver than you on the entire grid", "if I could I would give you my RB19, or I would force Red Bull to build you a car and then demand that Ferrari paint it red for you", "I would do what I did at the Brazilian Grand Prix last year a thousand times". For every word he murmured on Charles's skin, he kissed the Monegasque on different areas of his body, as if he wanted to tattoo them on his body, soul and mind, because Max meant it sincerely.
Max loved that Charles let him see him in any of his situations, but he really wouldn't like to have to see his boyfriend this sad again, he would like to have to give the Monaco born happy hugs, not have to comfort him and try to make sure his boyfriend doesn't break even worse. He gently nuzzled Charles's neck and looked up from the body resting against him to see the scene where Jack saves Rose from jumping off the ocean liner, Charles was completely immersed in the movie, it seemed his brain had shut down, only existing in the present.
Well, that was what Max wanted. Let his boyfriend forget about the shitty day that his team had caused him.
"I would also be able to jump after you" Verstappen murmured into Charles' brown hair, with his peripheral vision he noticed that the Monegasque smiled for the first time that night, surely it must have also been one of the first times he smiled during the day.
The movie was still streaming on Max's laptop, the Dutchman also ended up paying attention, no matter how many times he's seen it. For the first time in more than half an hour, he moved one of his arms away from Charles's body, he felt how the body of the driver of the Italian team trembled slightly, so he rushed to grab the plate of pasta, which to Max's good luck had not cooled, and placed it on the table next to the bathroom.
"Maxie, that's not very hygienic" Charles's voice was hoarse, but not as hoarse as the first time I spoke to him as soon as he arrived in the room.
"I had to disinfect the entire bathroom, I know for a good source that 99% of the bacteria and viruses have died" replied Max as he grabbed the Cappelletti with his fork, and offered it to Charles, and even with his complaints, the Monegasque ate.
“Have you already planned this? Did you also know that I would have a bad race?” asked the Monegasque, sitting better between Max's legs, but the Dutchman didn't like that movement, and he put Charles back on top of his lap.
"Of course not, it was in case I couldn't get first place from Lewis" was a white lie, even Charles realized it from the slight laugh he let out, Max almost apologized to his partner, but the Monegasque turned his head to kiss the Belgian-born man on the neck and then grab the same a Cappelletti for Max.
They continued watching the movie for almost an hour, until both the food and the champagne ran out and the water began to get cold, so Max paused and helped his boyfriend out of the water. Charles was already, little by little, going back to being the same Charles as always, but Max knew he had to piece the broken pieces of his boyfriend together carefully, because with one move or a bad word Charles could go back to the beginning and close with Max.
Carefully drying Charles's body, he spent time on the Monaco-born's hair, and at his request, Max also dried his hair. He dressed Charles in a black boxer shorts and one of his white T-shirts, clearly they were too big for him since he and Charles weren't the same size, but Charles loved wearing Max's clothes, and Max loved seeing Charles wearing his clothes.
You could call him possessive, Daniel has teased him before on that subject, he's not interested.
Max, for his part, changed into just a boxer and his seamless puma shorts, they were the most comfortable he had, and if he met his partner, tomorrow you probably wouldn't get out of bed until an hour before you had to board the private plane Max had.
After they were both in bed; Charles above Max's chest, resting his head on his left pectoral, and Max's two hands moving all over the Monegasque's back, making abstract figures with his fingers; to turn off all the lights that were in the room, close the windows and draw the curtains so that nothing seeps in, even if they were more than 45 stories above the ground and with no other hotel in sight, with the movie already on the TV and the two cell phones charging on each side of the bed; Max was encouraged to ask the question that was being asked so much containing.
"Do you want to talk about race, Charlie?" Max noticed how Charles's body tensed, so he hurried to continue speaking "I understand if you don't want to, and I won't force you to, you know I'm here, regardless of the time or day, for you to talk to me"
"I just don't understand why the improvements seem to work for all the teams except for us" the driver who used the number 16 did not stop watching television at any time, Max knew it was because he did not want him to see how his eyes filled with tears again, but his voice betrayed him "Even Alfa Romeo qualified better than us, in what world is it normal for a Ferrari to be in the middle of two Alfa Romeos?"
"In a universe where Ferrari does not know how to make the most of its best driver and does not prioritize him as it has to" Max was getting more and more tired of the Italian team with each race, perhaps if he had to listen to the messages he saw published by his fans and go set fire to Maranello.
Charles never liked being told it was his team's fault, he prefers to blame himself rather than criticize Ferrari. There were times when Max wanted to enter Charles' garage or Ferrari hospitality and yell at all that group of incompetents, except Fred of course.
"You know, I'm not having my best season either, last year I was fighting for the championship, and now I can barely fight a Haas." Of course, Charles would look for some excuse to blame himself before seeing the blunders Ferrari make week after week.
"And that's Binotto's fault" Max had nightmares about the Italian man, in more than one of his dreams Binotto and Xavi were at Red Bull working.
"Why would it be Mattias' fault if he is no longer the general director of Ferrari?" That was another topic Charles hated to talk about, as the tabloid media liked to blame Charles for Mattias's firing, instead of noticing that Binotto had destroyed Ferrari.
“First: he NEVER treated you as his first driver, not even when you were winning the championship and later the runner-up; second: he was behind SF-23, I hope that one day he will pay for his crimes” Verstappen had a list of at least 20 reasons to hate Mattia Binotto, but those two were good examples of why the former general manager of Ferrari should never set foot on any team again.
"Hmm I guess I'll give you that point, but I'm still having a lousy season on my own, I've had shitty cars in the past and I could get more out of it, I just don't get along with the SF-23." Max sometimes would like to live inside Charles' mind, like in "Inside Out" and be able to fight face to face against his boyfriend's bad thoughts.
"That's because they didn't build the car with you in mind, which they should have." No matter how many times they had this conversation, Max would always make Charles understand that it wasn't his fault, but the team's. "Red Bull does that to me."
"Sure honey, but Ferrari is not Red Bull" Charles slowly got up from above Max, but the Dutchman wouldn't let him, so he pressed Charles's body against his in a hug, the Monegasque only chuckled and settled better on top of his partner's body.
"Obviously not, they will have many championships but in Maranello they forgot what order is for the drivers" Max paused the movie, they hadn't missed much and there were still a little less than two hours left, he wanted Charles to listen and focus exclusively on this conversation "Everyonethe teams have a first and second driver, only in the Ferrari utopia that is not possible ”
"Oh imagine if that existed" Charles at first sounded hopeful, but his voice trailed off "Today's complaints only increased"
"What do you mean?" Max didn't have time to see anything about the race, he just wanted to get to his hotel room to celebrate or comfort Charles, he didn't know what Ferrari had done to Charles.
“Ferrari made it take more than 9 seconds at the pit stop” Oh, sure Ferrari would do that. Charles sounded just as sad as when Max had entered the room for the first time. "So, to compensate, they put me first."
"How strange Ferrari screwing up your race, I've never seen that before" Irony and anger were evident in Max's tone, but the Dutchman wasn't interested, he just wanted to go and destroy everything related to Ferrari like they destroyed his boyfriend "And if that's how you tell me, that's fine with me"
"MAX" Charles sounded slightly surprised, perhaps because he expected that kind of comment from his boyfriend, but he didn't expect him to be "so brusque" when saying it "That's not right, you told me so yourself last year"
"Sure" Max began to pamper Charles's hair, while his other hand entered under the blanket and sheet to caress his back "It's not right that they do it TO YOU, I don't care if your teammate is me, you don't have to sacrifice your career, if not the second car”
"You're already delusional from alcohol." Charles's breath shock as he spoke against Max's sensitive neck was causing mixed reactions.
"I'm serious, and what's more, if we were teammates and I saw that you've fallen behind me, I'd ask to enter Boxing as long as you at least finish the race ahead of me" Max's response was swift, he was a man in love, he would do the impossible just to see to Charles happy.
"What if I'm ranked 20th?" Charles was now drawing abstract patterns on Max's chest, if they weren't having a deep conversation the Dutchman would probably have already fallen asleep, but he wasn't sleepy at all.
"Well, you'll be in 19th place because I'll sink in last place" The Belgian-born's response caused the Monegasque to laugh, and god, Max loved that sound and more when he was the one who caused it,
"If any journalist heard you, they would think you were drugged" Charles had that smile of his, and Max knew him, he was imagining the situation "If they knew you were just trying to be a good boyfriend"
"I'm serious, you know that I would be the best team player, and I would crash or cause a safety car if the car in front of you had moved away for more than 8 seconds, so you can bring it closer" he was a man in love, Max would do all that and more as long as Charles won.
“And what do you think I can do to fulfill that fantasy of yours? Go to sleep?" Charles used that old trick of his, that when he ran out of arguments to defend the team he lied saying he was sleepy, Max learned over the years to realize it. In the past, he would have let Charles sleep, but he knew that the Monaco-born man would not rest, but would think about all his mistakes in the race, even if he hadn't made any.
“I need to see you away from Ferrari, Charles. I know you love that team, that it's your dream to win a championship with them, but they don't know what to do with all the love and fidelity you've shown them” Max had never been so direct, if Charles stayed at Ferrari he would support him and would listen for the rest of his life as his boyfriend carried everything the burden of blame while the Italian team was unaware of any problems, but needed to let him know that he also supports his decision to leave Ferrari.
"I can't leave Ferrari, it's not only my dream, but also Jules's" the Monegasque had mentioned Jules Bianchi a few times after a terrible race, he had done it only twice before: in Monaco 2021 and in Singapore 2022.
"I didn't meet him, I only know what you, Daniel, Pierre, Arthur and Lorenzo talk about, like the other older drivers on the grid, but if he was how you describe him, I'm sure he wouldn't let you suffer in a team that doesn't value you, no matter how much his dream is or not, he would care more. seeing you happy than a stupid seat” Max had had that thought for weeks, since that time he spoke to Pierre and the Frenchman told him “You know, Jules would be able to complain on television every race in which Charles was harmed, did you see what Ralf Schumacher did against Haas? good at that level”, the current world champion imagined it, since he would be able to do the same for Charles.
“And if it's not at Ferrari… Which team would you go to? What team would risk having a driver who barely has 80 points in the middle of the season?" Tears began to wet Max's clavicle, clearly the Dutchman's words had provoked something in Charles.
"Literally any of the other nine teams, only Ferrari can't figure out the driver they have" Max was completely serious. "Christian himself told you that he and Red Bull can handle two drivers with championship potential, and for us there is nothing better than having the two best talents of his generation as teammates."
"You know I can't go to Red Bull, Max." Charles gave a hoarse laugh.
“You say that now, when you sign the contract I will make fun of you” the Dutchman firmly believed that the two of them would be teammates in 2024 or 2025 at the latest “But if it is not at Red Bull, you still have Aston Marton, I told you that Fernando would love to have a young driver hungry for glory like his teammate at the end of his career”
"And Lance?" Charles's question caught Max off guard, he had forgotten about the driver, son of the owner of Aston Martin.
"Stop hindering my ideas" Max couldn't help but roll his eyes and roll them "You still have Mercedes"
“I won't talk to them without knowing how Lewis is doing, it doesn't seem fair to me” Charles was a very noble soul in a cutthroat sport, luckily he had Max by his side who wasn't afraid to even speak brutally honest about his own teammate.
Max couldn't take it anymore and he attacked Charles with tickles, which took his partner by surprise, laughter filled the room and the Monegasque ended up below Max. When the Dutchman finally released Charles they returned to their starting position.
"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" The Dutchman believed that they had already covered all the topics, but Charles was like a mamuska, perhaps there was still something that I did not talk to him about.
"Yes" the Ferrari driver said simply, getting up from where he was lying and sitting down to see his partner.
"And what is?" Max asked, grabbing one of Charles's hands, his other hand going to his boyfriend's left thigh.
"Did you know that Ferrari didn't realize my drinking device wasn't working until minutes before the race?" Charles said it as if he were talking about the weather and not that he could have suffered a breakdown in his car due to not having water.
"Excuse me? Didn't you drink water during the whole race?" Maybe Max misheard him, he didn't think Ferrari was that stupid.
"That's right, don't drink water during the whole race" Max's hand that was caressing Charles's thigh squeezed that area when he heard it, Max's eyes turned darker, and he had THAT look, the one that meant danger to everyone, the one he only had when Charles or a family member his was in danger.
“The weather was unbearable today, how did you not drink water for 70 laps?” Max didn't know how the FIA had allowed that, it was like racing the Singapore circuit without drinking a single drop of water.
"Well, I didn't get dehydrated from sweat or heat, but from my tears" Charles's humor was strange.
"CHARLES" Max released Charles's thigh and rubbed it over his face. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
“I felt like it wasn't that important, you know take a 5 second penalty and he was seventh in the race when I started the race sixth, clearly he had other concerns” of course, Charles prioritizes his race before his physical health.
“One of these days you will be left without a boyfriend, and it will be because I was arrested on charges of “terrorism against the Ferrari team” I'm serious” Max was already imagining different ways to get revenge on Ferrari: flooding them with sewage, leaving them without drinking water for 70 days, and the list I kept coming up with ideas.
"Maxie, that's not funny" As much as he wanted to sound serious, Charles was betrayed by the small smile that formed on his lips at the thought of his boyfriend taking revenge on Ferrari.
"Who said I was making a joke?" the Dutchman asked, putting both his arms behind his head. “I'll talk to George and tell him that, yes, he can somehow destroy Ferrari. I'm sure Pierre, Lando n' Daniel will join the anti-Ferrari crusade, not Alex, he's too noble for that."
Charles just shook his head and went back to lie on his boyfriend, the Dutchman quickly adjusted the sheet and blanket better over Charles's body and played the movie again.
They didn't speak again for the next two hours, except for some "I love you" or "I'd do the same as Rose". Charles fell asleep a few minutes after the film ended, the Dutchman put on a documentary to make background noise and wanted to start watching it, but the head of the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix champion could only think of one thing.
The way he would take revenge on Ferrari, he already had an idea planned, but Charles had to finish on the podium in some race, but as soon as it happens he will.
And then he's going to get down on one knee right there and ask Charles to marry him.
Yes, that will do.
Now all that was left to do was wait for Charles to finish on a podium, let Scuderia Ferrari know that Charles not only has someone behind him, but also knows very well that they are not treating his boyfriend with the treatment that he deserves, that of the first driver, and then, when even Charles doesn't expect what Max will do, he will take out the ring and ask his to marry him. He would do it in private, but he wanted the world to know that Charles was already engaged and to tell everyone at Ferrari other than Charles that he would never again let his partner cry over how miserable he was made to feel in his team.
He only had to wait for Charles to return to one of the first three places.
"I take care of you darling, I will never let you shed another tear" Max murmured into Charles's hair "I love you schatje"
"I love you too Maxie" replied Charles, he sounded sleepy, so perhaps he was dreaming of him and he thought that "the Max" of his dreams was the one who was telling him that Max could only shake his head and settle better in bed.
Yeah, there was nothing Max wouldn't do for him.